Senior Conservative MP Kemi Badenoch has been accused of making "very dangerous" and "deeply inaccurate" statements that risk spreading racism, following her response to a landmark government strategy on tackling violence against women and girls.
A New National Strategy Announced
On Thursday, the government's safeguarding minister, Jess Phillips, stood in the House of Commons to unveil a long-awaited plan to address what she termed a "national emergency." The strategy commits to halving the incidence of these crimes within a decade and makes tackling violence against women and girls a priority across local and national government, the criminal justice system, and the voluntary sector.
"We are calling violence against women and girls the national emergency that it is," Phillips told MPs. The plan focuses on preventing the radicalisation of young men, stopping abusers, and providing better support for victims.
Badenoch's Controversial Intervention
In response to the strategy, which includes measures to tackle misogyny in schools, the Tory leader questioned the focus. Badenoch suggested plans for schools were influenced by the Netflix drama Adolescence and argued the emphasis should instead be on immigration.
"The fact is, it's not 11-year-old boys in school who are perpetrating violence against women and girls," Badenoch stated. She urged the government to "stop people who come from cultures that don't respect women coming into our country" and to remove foreign criminals immediately.
Charities and Experts Issue Stern Warning
Charity leaders and coalition directors swiftly condemned Badenoch's language. Ghadah Alnasseri, co-executive director of Imkaan, a charity supporting ethnic minority women, said the rhetoric could make migrant women less safe.
"Her rhetoric is very dangerous," Alnasseri said, pointing to the fact that most victims know their abuser. "It's deeply inaccurate, it's misinformation and it's spreading racism." She revealed that some charities have had to remove public signage to avoid attacks, forcing women to seek help discreetly.
Andrea Simon, director of the End Violence Against Women coalition, stressed that gendered violence is "not an imported problem." She accused politicians of point-scoring on a day of significant policy announcement and emphasised that abuse is a deeply entrenched issue within UK society.
Political Clash in the Commons
The shadow Home Office minister, Katie Lam, used her response time to focus on whether immigration exacerbates violence against women, claiming not all cultures share the UK's belief in gender equality. Jess Phillips directly countered this, stating that violence occurs in every community and that the vast majority of cases involve UK-born individuals abusing other UK-born individuals.
"If the only crimes that I had to concern myself with halving was those that were committed by people who arrive in our country, my job would be considerably easier," Phillips retorted.
The row has cast a shadow over the launch of the government's new strategy, with experts fearing that divisive political language could undermine efforts to protect all women and girls.
